Measles Spead To Children At Casselberry Day Care

CASSELBERRY — Five children who attend a Casselberry day-care center have been diagnosed within the past week as having measles, Seminole County health director Jorge Deju said Tuesday.

The 23- or 24-year-old mother of a 1-year-old boy who attends Kids' World at 390 Piney Ridge Road in Casselberry contracted the disease in late August, Deju said. She passed it on to her son, who apparently infected four others at the day-care center, Deju said.

The health director said measles is not uncommon among people in their 20s who were immunized before 1968, when an improved serum became available. Anyone immunized before 1968 should get another shot, he said.

Eleven children at Kids' World have not been immunized for the disease and they have been isolated from the other youngsters, Deju said. Those 11 were given gamma globulin, an antibiotic that will reduce the severity of the case if the children contract measles.

Those without the immunization are too young for the shots, he said. A child should be 12 to 15 months old before receiving the immunization, he said.

All 65 day-care centers in the county have been contacted and told not to transfer any of their children to the Casselberry center until the health department is sure it has contained the highly contagious disease, Deju said. Deju met with Seminole County School Superintendent Robert Hughes Tuesday to request records on those children in the public school system who have not been immunized.

Children must have the immunization to attend school unless they have medical or religious reasons for not having the shots.

Deju said that if measles spread to the public school health officials will be able to contact parents of children without the immunization quickly. The parents can keep their child out of school or have the immunization, he said. Symptoms of measles are a rash, fever, dry cough and watery eyes. Anyone who has such symptoms should be checked by a doctor, Deju said.